ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Should hateful tweets keep you from getting a gun? That’s a question many have asked after suspects in several horrific mass shootings were found only later to have left social media hints of violence that went unheeded for years. Now a New York lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require police to scrutinize the social media and online searches of handgun license applicants, and disqualify those who publish violent or hate-filled posts.
“We certainly want to make sure we’re putting weapons in the hands of the right people and keeping them out of the hands of the wrong people,” said state Sen. Kevin Parker, a Brooklyn Democrat who added he was inspired to act after the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect left social media rants[1] that Jews were “children of Satan.”
Free-speech watchdogs and even some gun-control advocates have already raised concerns about the bill, which would require handgun applicants to turn over login information to allow investigators to look at three years’ worth of Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram posts. Google, Yahoo and Bing searches over the previous year also would be checked.
Licenses could be denied if investigators uncover threats of violence or terrorism or the use of racial or ethnic slurs.
Parker’s bill comes as people are increasingly wary about their online lives being tracked. But social postings are commonly checked by everyone from human resource workers to police officers. A survey[2] of more than 550 police departments several years ago by the International Association of Chiefs of Police found more than half use social media for listening or monitoring and three-quarters of them use it for intelligence.
While the prospects of Parker’s bill passing are uncertain, he has already succeeded at one of his
